Giants players call team ‘soft’, question effort after loss

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ — Defensive captain Dexter Lawrence II thought the New York Giants played “softly” in a 30-7 blowout loss Sunday to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at MetLife Stadium.

Rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers had a similar rating after a game in which he didn’t get a touch in the first half.

“Soft as f—,” he said in frustration.

Veteran offensive lineman Jermaine Eluemunor’s rating indicated a lack of overall effort.

“I personally don’t think everyone gives 100 percent,” Eluemunor said.

Outstanding edge rusher Brian Burns on 30-0 at home after their bye week: “That’s ass.”

Not exactly a glowing review of what the Giants (2-9) put on the field as they dropped their sixth straight game. It also happened to be their first contest this year without Daniel Jones at quarterback.

Jones was benched at the start of the week. He was released on Friday. The “spark” the Giants were looking for from Tommy DeVito wasn’t there for reasons that extend far beyond the quarterback.

DeVito threw for 35 yards and was sacked three times in the first half alone as the Giants faced a 23-0 halftime deficit. He finished 21-of-31 for 189 yards passing.

It was as if Nabers, the Giants’ best playmaker, didn’t play in the first half. He wasn’t even purposeful.

“Go out there first, second quarter, don’t catch the ball,” he said. “Start getting goals at the end. I mean, I can’t do that. Start getting the ball when it’s 30-0. What do you want me to do?”

Nabers finished with 6 catches on 9 targets for 64 yards — all in the second half. He was unsure what happened in the disastrous first half and why he didn’t get the ball.

“I don’t know,” Nabers said. “Talk to (Giants coach Brian) Daboll about it.”

The Giants (2-9) are at a crossroads, with just a few days to prepare for a Thanksgiving game against the Dallas Cowboys.

“Extremely (angry),” Lawrence said. “We played soft and they beat the s— out of us today.”

Lawrence didn’t think the defense’s problem was a lack of effort, even though the Giants allowed 450 yards, which could have been more if not for the lopsided scoring in the fourth quarter. Instead, he pointed to their inability to tackle and cover.

Nabers, the explosive rookie receiver, seemed equally frustrated and upset. He said he was tired of losing. And he didn’t think it had much, if anything, to do with what happened to Jones this past week.

“Obviously, it’s not the quarterback,” Nabers said. “Same result we had with (Jones) at quarterback. Take a look. Take a look. It’s not the quarterback.”

So what is it?

“I don’t know. Everybody knows better than me. I don’t know. Honestly, I don’t know what it is,” he said. “I know, I’m tired of losing.”

Eluemunor, who left in the first quarter with a quad injury and was unable to return, called the loss “embarrassing.”

The veteran offensive lineman, who previously played for the Las Vegas Raiders and New England Patriots and recently switched positions for the second time this season for the sake of the team, noted that poor effort has occurred on more than one occasion this year.

“Obviously it’s not the quarterback. Same result we had with (Daniel Jones) at quarterback. Take a look. Take a look. It’s not the quarterback.”

Malik Nabers

“I personally don’t think everybody gives 100 percent. And I mean, you’re 2-9, you’ve got to be real with everybody. I’m 29 years old. I’m a vet in this league, and if somebody has a problem with, that I say they can come see me, but I think this franchise and these coaches deserve a lot better. And like I said, there’s a lot of people on this team that give it their all. But it’s not all.”

This was the Giants’ fifth loss this season by eight points or more. They haven’t had a lead since winning at Seattle on Oct. 6, a six-game stretch.

Daboll was subsequently asked how to explain the type of performance his team put in on the pitch on Sunday after their bye.

“It wasn’t good. It wasn’t good,” he said. “For a variety of … missed tackles, red zone conversions, red zone turnovers. We had a good week of practice. Did a lot of work and obviously it didn’t show.

“So no excuses.”